Interleukin-12 gene therapy prevents establishment of SCC VII squamous cell carcinomas, inhibits tumor growth, and elicits long-term antitumor immunity in syngeneic C3H mice.
Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is an immunostimulatory agent with very promising antitumor activity. Using a retroviral expression vector, the authors have successfully transduced the genes encoding the two subunits of murine IL-12 to the squamous cell carcinoma cell line, SCC VII. Once IL-12 gene transcription and protein production were successfully verified, IL-12 expression was found to inhibit the establishment of SCC VII tumors in syngeneic C3H/HeJ mice inoculated with 1 x 10(6) SCC VII/IL-12 viable tumor cells. Mice immunized in this manner and rechallenged with parent SCC VII were capable of rejecting tumor up to 40% of the time. Treatment of established SCC VII tumors with irradiated IL-12-producing tumors cells led to significant tumor regression in a high percentage of animals.
Myers
J N
JN
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, USA.
Mank-Seymour
A
A
Zitvogel
L
L
Storkus
W
W
Clarke
M
M
Johnson
C S
CS
Tahara
H
H
Lotze
M T
MT
D000818:Animals; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D007167:Immunotherapy; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012190:Retroviridae; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D018664:Interleukin-12